In the Philippines, creating aircraft models is a rare business with only 10 known local companies working in this industry. Lyndon Uson, founder of AircraftCity – the home of quality model aircraft and plaques – continues to make his mark in this booming yet competitive creative field by captivating both the local and global markets with his artistic skills and reliable service delivery.
Lyndon Uson is a Filipino craftsman and entrepreneur whose innate passion for airplanes and experience moved him to venture into the business of handcrafting high-quality military and civilian aircraft models. With the support from his family and industry peers, he soon opened his own company, AircraftCity, which grew and expanded its operations attracting customers from all around the world.
AircraftCity’s models undergo a meticulous process to maintain a high level of workmanship. Each of its produced handicrafts is designed from scratch and is hand-carved in solid Kiln Dried Philippine Mahogany wood. All the parts are then assembled and hand-painted by talented craftsmen. With Lyndon’s hands-on production methods and tight quality control procedures, the accuracy of the product is guaranteed from start to finish increasing its quality. “We are very particular about details. Since our models are handmade, characteristics such as the size of the propeller and the internal cockpit are taken into design consideration. My forte is developing models that my competitors aren’t making or aren’t able to develop,” shared Lyndon.
As his work became internationally recognized, Lyndon soon formed a partnership with Aviator Gear, a US-based e-commerce platform for custom military aviation gear. This partnership brought in resources that enabled AircraftCity to export their creations and connect with global customers. With a wider network, Lyndon is able to focus on design, production, and shipment of orders to customers from the US, Europe, and other parts of the world.
AircraftCity is thankful throughout the pandemic, the company has seen a consistent and increasing demand for their products. Lyndon connects this continued growth with a strong e-commerce presence. As such, Lyndon looks to build another factory to further scale his operations as he mentioned that “even our American partner is pushing us to expand as he foresees the production and orders of scaled aircrafts models to double by 2022.”
For Lyndon, forming strategic partnerships and networks are pivotal for small and medium enterprises like AircraftCity to leverage opportunities in the current e-commerce boom. When it comes to cross-border sales, safe and timely delivery is as important as the quality and integrity of the product. Ensuring that both aspects of the business are essential not only to ensure satisfaction but also trust among online customers.
In shipping its products, AircraftCity has relied on the valuable services of FedEx. The company has been a FedEx customer since 2013. “We make it a point that our logistics provider understands that our products are delicate and with FedEx, they offer different shipping tools and solutions that enables me to optimize costs and delivery efficiency,” Lyndon says.
With FedEx as his logistics provider, Lyndon is able to connect to every U.S. address and to more than 220 countries and territories, allowing his business to grow exponentially and to reach a wider range of customers.
FedEx is a strong advocate for the growth of small and medium enterprises across the Asia Pacific region with its seamless courier services, helping many local businesses grow and launch to foreign markets.